Door fastener



Jan. 12, 1954 w. PATTERSON 2,665,935

DOOR FASTENER Filed Oct. 7, 1948 23/2 Q Q29 31 19 ,0 25' Z I N V EN TOR. illiam Walter-$022 Patented Jan. 12, 1954 UNITED STATES ATLENT OFFICE DOOR FASTENER William Patterson, Merio'n, Pa. Application 'October' 7, 1948, Serial No. 53,343 -1 -Claim. (Cl. 292 292 My invention relates to new and "useful door fasteners and particularlydeviceswhich m'ay"be employed as temporary fasteners 'or'in'conn'e'ction with a mechanically controlled means "to actually function as locking instrumentalities.

An object of the invention 'is to provide a strong, light portable fastener whi'ch'may be employed to lock adoor from either the outside or the inside, the drawers of desks, household furniture and the like, drop lids of storage bins or boxes, other" swinging or'sliding'items andsimila'r apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character'which is simplein construction although strong and durable and which can lee-employed to lock a'door, and many other items, even when the door "structure does not have a look or latch keeper.

Usually devices of a somewhat similar character when employed to fasten a door in closed position must be located 'on'the'inside of a'c'ompartment and generally require that a keeper or lock bolt or latch receiving 'aperture'be present or provided in the door frame. Myfastener does not require such accessories and can be easily applied without appreciable defacement 'to'the door frame and can "be utilized to look a .door from the outside, for example, a closet door, which closet may "contain clothing, jewelry or other valuable articles. Therefore,it will be apparent that not only "can the door to a room be locked from the inside but such a door'may be locked securely from the outside, especially a closet door,-by the use of an individual padlock and key, which will keep out prowlers or curious persons.

A further object of this invention is to provide, in combination, an arm to be attached to adoor frame or the like and a sleeve to be slipped over said arm and having a laterally projecting stop plate to engage a swinging orsliding item,'such as a door, said arm and sleeve provided -with aligning apertures to receive a securingmeans, such as the bow of a padlock.

With the above and other objects in view this, invention consists of the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then designated by the claim.

In order that those skilled in the art to which thi invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same I will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 are isometric views of two similar arms of difierent lengths.

Fig. 8 is a perspective 'view of the sleeve or slide.

Figs. l-5 are fragmentary perspective views of door .jam'bs with fasteners thereon illustrating differentfimounting'arrangements.

Fig. 6 is a similarview showing molding 'on the'door'frame and themanner in whichalon'ger arm should be'mounted thereon.

"Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view, on a reduced scale, of portions of a plain frame and doorshowing the completely assembled -fastener in holding position.

Fig. tie a further reduced'faceview ofthe arm on adoor frame.

Fig. 9 is an end'view of the arm and'sleeve mounted for holding'a' door in closed position,and

Fig. 10 is a'p'erspective view of aslightlym'odified form of fastener adapted to hold "a pair of doors inclosed relation.

"In carrying out the invention as herein embodied, reference being first had to Figs. 1"to9, inclusive, 15 represents 'the holding arm comprised of 'aflat piece of sheet metal having one ormoreholes I6 in-the inner end throughwhic'h are projectedfastening devices ll, such as screws, for attaching'said arm to a supporting'elem'ent [3, such as a door frame, and a single aperture l9 in the outerend to'receiv the'bow2il of a padlock 2i, Fig.7, or other securing or hol'ding device. The "holding arm I 5 may be of diiferent lengths for mounting on door frames 'havingdif ferent types of'finishin'g'molding'and on a face of said holdingarm'is a series of spaced indication'marks 22 and associated indicia '23. Themdication'marks start at a shoulder '24 on one edge of said arm and extend rearwardly any suitable or preselected distance.

A fasteningmember 25 includes 'a rectangular shaped tubularsleeve -Ethaving a sliding -fit'on the holding arml'ii and provided at its inner end with'a laterally'projecting wing plate 2'! toengage or contact a face of a'door 28'or'equivalent movable element,'such as drawers'in articlesof furniture. "In the outer "end of the .sleeve is formed an aperture 29 to receive-the bow z'il'of the padlock 2! or other securing or holding device whenever said aperture 29 aligns with the aperture iii in the outer end of the holding arm. It is to be understood that the aperture 29 passes through both of the opposed side walls of the sleeve.

When the door fastener is to be installed, the style of the door frame or jamb and. the condition of the door, whether it fits flush or is sprung or Warped, must be taken into consideration. If the door fits its frame or jamb in practically perfect or flush condition the holding arm is set back until the shoulder 24 is substantially even with the adjacent corner or outer face of said frame, as shown in Fig. 4, but if the door is sprung, warped or is thicker than the depth of the door receiving recess, the indication marks are utilized to properly install the holding arm of the device. This is accomplished by merely judging or determining the distance the outer face of the door projects beyond the outer face of th adjacent portion of the frame while the door is closed. Then it is decided which one of the indication marks 22 is a distance back of the shoulder equal to the predetermined distance between the outer faces of the door and its frame and the holding arm is installed with the proper indication mark in alignment with the planeof the outer face of said frame. This will cause the I holding arm to project the necessary distance to permit the holes 19 and 29 to be aligned, Fig. or locate the fastening member 25 beyond the hole I9, Fig. 2, when said fastening member is placed on the holding arm and moved into engagement with the shoulder 24. Should the type or style of the door frame be such that a protuberance, for example, a molding 30, Fig. 6, extends beyond the outer face of the main frame or normal position of the outer face of a closed door, a long holding arm is used. In every instance the holding arm 15 is mounted on the inside edge of the door frame or jamb so that there will be practically no defacement of said door frame when the arm is removed as only three or less screw holes will remain and even these will not be visible when the door is closed.

In practice, when the door is closed against its jamb, with a holding arm in fixed position and protruding beyond the face of the door opposite the jamb, a fastening member 25 is slipped over the holding arm in a manner to cause the wing plate to be disposed in the path of travel of the door towards its open position. At such a time the sleeve portion of the fastening member 25 will be in engagement with the shoulder on the holding arm. Under a condition where a short arm 15 is employed, the engagement of the sleeve with the shoulder will cause an alignment of the apertures 19 and 29 so that the bow of a padlock, a staple or even a nail may b inserted to hold the parts in place and prevent opening of the door with a pass key or if not locked by any usual locking means. Where it is necessary to employ a long holding arm, the fastening member 25 may be projected over said arm until the sleeve engages the shoulder which will expose the aperture, or said holding member may be positioned to cause the apertures l9 and 29 to align with one another. In the first instance the bow of the padlock is placed in the aperture I9 only to prevent the fastening member being withdrawn whereas in the second instance the bow of the padlock is inserted in both apertures for the same purpose although it might be possible to open the door slightly.

As illustrated in Fig. 10, the door fastener may be applied to double swinging or sliding doors in which case the holding arm i5 is secured to the meeting edge of one door 31 and a hasp 32 is secured to a face of the other door 33. To lock the two doors, a fastening member 25a including the sleeve portion 26a with the apertur 29a therethrough and the lateral wing plate 21a which, in this case, has an elongated aperture 34 to fit the hasp 32. After the bow of a padlock has been inserted in the beep 32, the two doors cannot be slid apart nor swung in either direction because of the binding action between the sleeve portion of the fastening member and the holding arm due to the straight line formation of said sleeve and arm and the arcs in which the doors swing.

It is to be fully understood that when the device is manufactured the elongated aperture 34 may be formed in the wing plate although not actually utilized thus providing a fastener adapted for use in either of the ways illustrated in the drawing.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present devic may be carried in a persons pocket, hand bag or luggage for use wherever desired and can be employed to securely look a door. Whether or not the latter is provided with a lock or even a lock keeper and provides means for looking a door with a persons individual or private lock key.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as these may be varied within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and useful is:

In a device of the kind described, a holding arm secured to the inner edge of one of a pair of coacting doors and projecting beyond a face of the door to which said arm is secured, a hasp secured to a face of the other door on the same sid as the projecting end of the holding arm, a sleeve slidable over the projecting end of said holding arm, and an integral wing plate extending laterally from th inner end of the sleeve and provided with an aperture to permit said wing plate to pass over the hasp after which a padlock may be applied to said hasp for locking the two doors together.

. WILLIAM PATTERSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 794,400 Farrell July 1, 1905 885,583 Bury Apr. 21, 1908 965,913 Langstrom Aug. 2, 1910 1,579,298 Fry et a1 Apr. 6, 1926 1,668,983 Sherman May 8, 1928 1,845,038 Alderson Feb. 16, 1932 2,226,640 Smythe Dec. 31, 1940 

